The Circle of Satisfaction - RUOK in relation to driving

September 13th was international RUOK day, reminding us to check in on those around us. You can read our blog post on how to ask the question, along with some driver-related things to look out for here.

As a part of Fleetcoach's work on the day, our Head of Research Dr Robert Isler was interviewed by the NRSPP (National Road Safety Partnership Programme). They've put together this excellent thought leadership piece, talking about the links between mental health, life/job satisfaction and driving.

Here are some excerpts to give you an idea of the content:

"Driving is a surrogate measure of job performance and job satisfaction. Research has shown a strong correlation between high job and life satisfaction and lower levels of crashes and near misses, fewer speeding infringements and less risk-taking behaviour on our roads.

‘I have been in road safety for a very long time and it always focusses on skills deficit, wanting to improve car handling skills, but there was very little research on what actually makes a good, safer driver,’ Robert Isler said. ‘It’s not just improving skills. What we realised is it’s very much dependent on mental health, and the way people can cope with problems and issues, for example at work.

‘We found strong correlations between burnout measures and number of crashes, fines and near misses, and a very strong correlation between life and job satisfaction and decreased number of traffic related incidents.

‘When people feel mentally unwell, they have problems focusing, and therefore it takes them longer to extract crucial safety information from the traffic environment, as their mind wanders, ruminating on non-traffic related issues.

‘Their anxieties impact their sleeping patterns, causing fatigue during the day, and this again impacts on their driving performance, and particularly hazard perception."

You can read the media release about the piece here, and access the full article here.